Frances Helen Foster (née Brown; June 11, 1924 â€" June 17, 1997) was
an American film, television and stage actress. In addition to being
an actress, Brown was also an awardâ€"winning stage director.Foster
was born Frances Helen Brown in Yonkers, New York, the daughter of
George H., a postal worker, and Helen E. Brown. She studied acting at
American Theater Wing in Manhattan from 1949 to 1952. In 1955, she
made her stage debut as Dolly May in The Wisteria Trees at the City
Center Theater in more than 25 of its productions. Foster won an Obie
Award in 1985 for sustained excellence of performance. She was also a
recipient of two AUDELCO Awards, one as an actress and the other as a
director for work at the New Federal Theatre in Manhattan. In 1978,
she received the best actress award for Do Lord Remember Me, and the
best director award in 1983 for Hospice. She also appeared in several
films, including Malcolm X, Crooklyn, and Clockers, as well as the
recurring role of Vera on the soap opera Guiding Light from 1985-94.
She's also known from one of the most infamous episodes of Good Times,
as Gertie Vinson, a neighbor of the Evans family who was forced to eat
dog food in the episode "The Dinner Party".She died in Fairfax,
Virginia, from cerebral hemorrhage, June 17, 1997, aged 73.
an American film, television and stage actress. In addition to being
an actress, Brown was also an awardâ€"winning stage director.Foster
was born Frances Helen Brown in Yonkers, New York, the daughter of
George H., a postal worker, and Helen E. Brown. She studied acting at
American Theater Wing in Manhattan from 1949 to 1952. In 1955, she
made her stage debut as Dolly May in The Wisteria Trees at the City
Center Theater in more than 25 of its productions. Foster won an Obie
Award in 1985 for sustained excellence of performance. She was also a
recipient of two AUDELCO Awards, one as an actress and the other as a
director for work at the New Federal Theatre in Manhattan. In 1978,
she received the best actress award for Do Lord Remember Me, and the
best director award in 1983 for Hospice. She also appeared in several
films, including Malcolm X, Crooklyn, and Clockers, as well as the
recurring role of Vera on the soap opera Guiding Light from 1985-94.
She's also known from one of the most infamous episodes of Good Times,
as Gertie Vinson, a neighbor of the Evans family who was forced to eat
dog food in the episode "The Dinner Party".She died in Fairfax,
Virginia, from cerebral hemorrhage, June 17, 1997, aged 73.
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